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As Nicholas paced the floor because he couldn't sleep, Sharon came into the living room in her bathing suit. After he declined both her offer of a glass of wine and accompanying her for a swim, she went up to the pool alone. As she walked out the door, Victor was walking in, looking for Nicholas. Much to Nicholas' chagrin, Victor told him he was aware of the whole family situation. He told Nicholas he should really take a long look at the situation and consider the things they are going through are painful, but common. He told him to consider everything he might lose before making any rash decisions, and that there is a way to fix everything. Nicholas told his dad this was the hardest situation he had ever dealt with. He expressed his disdain at Vicki's possible reunion with Diego and said he wished he would just leave town once and for all. When Victor asked about Grace, Nicholas just avoided the question and told his dad he sent her back to New York. Once Victor got up to leave, Nicholas told Victor that Vicki probably wouldn't listen to him about Diego, to which Victor replied, "But Diego will."

Up at the pool, Nikki confronted Sharon about her infidelity. When she gave Sharon a piece of her mind, Sharon reminded her that not all that long ago, Nicholas had done the same thing to her. She asked Nikki to remember how she begged Sharon to forgive Nicholas, and how she has a double standard where forgiveness is concerned. Nikki was not listening to Sharon's excuses and went so far as to accuse her of setting her sights on Diego far before they slept together. Sharon denied the accusation, and tried to explain to Nikki that when she saw Grace Turner in town, she panicked, and that's how the whole situation with Diego got out of control. Not really open to a word Sharon had to say, Nikki seemed to take pleasure in telling her that Grace was back in town.
When Sharon went back downstairs, Victor was on his way out. He asked if she had seen Victoria, and Sharon told him she had just seen her car near the tack house.

Down at the tack house, Vicki told Diego she was upset that he was leaving town, and that if he really cared, he wouldn't leave. He told her the only reason he was leaving was because he wanted to do what he thought was best for her. He told her he didn't want her to have to choose between their relationship and her family, and that he wanted her to be happy. Approaching him, she told him she couldn't be happy without him. After making love, they began to question whether or not their relationship could work, but both agreed to try. Vicki decided to go to the main house to get Diego something to eat, and a few minutes after he left, Victor walked in, looking very angry.

Brittany and her mother met for dinner at Gina's to discuss what their attorney advised. The attorney strongly suggested Brittany participate in community service to at least appear remorseful. Brittany, not very thrilled, said she really just wanted to leave town, because of her heartbreak over Raul. Her mother told her love was just a fantasy and that Brittany was far to young to understand the realities of life and love. Brittany sarcastically replied by telling her mother that she had always given her the finest love money could buy. After calling her ungrateful, her mother got up and left without eating.

At the coffee house, Raul struggled to walk in wearing his back brace. Larry approached him and they had a cup of coffee together. They talked a little bit about Diego and how Larry saw a very upset Vicki at Gina's. The conversation turned to Brittany, and when Larry asked if Raul missed her, he had a hard time denying it. Larry suggested he call her, but Raul said he would actually rather talk to her in person. He went on to say she had probably already found someone new, and that he was probably better off forgetting about her. As he said it, Brittany walked up to the table.

In the park, Michael was berating Isabella for being so careless where Christine was concerned. Isabella told him she felt she was doing just fine, and that it's best that Paul see Christine around and get comfortable with it. Michael warned her it would backfire, and told her that Christine was determined to get information on her, so she had better stay out of her way. In fact, he said, Isabella should start by uninviting Christine to Ricky's christening. After leaving the park, Isabella took his advice and went to go visit Christine at the law firm.

At the same time, Christine and Paul were involved in a contentious conversation. He pointedly asked her if she was sleeping with Michael, and she didn't hide how disgusted she was that he had asked. She got very defensive and asked how dare he ask her that. She told him Michael was a changed man, and pointed out what a snake she thought Isabella was. She went on to tell Paul how unhappy he seemed even though he had finally gotten everything he said he wanted. Pushing him even further, she asked him why he was so jealous of Michael, which infuriated him even further. He denied being jealous and asked what she planned to do. She told him she planned to go to the apartment and drop off some of her belongings before leaving town on business.

In the living room of the Newman ranch, Vicki ran into Nikki and went on and on about how happy she was to have found Diego before it was too late. Nikki, clearly not sharing in her excitement, told Vicki she knew the entire story, and so did Victor. Vicki was aggravated that Sharon told her parents what was really going on, and how her talking about it with everyone was only making matters worse. Nikki told her daughter she was finding it very difficult to understand how Vicki could overlook everything that had happened, and when she replied that it was because she was in love, Nikki just looked at her incredulously. She told Vicki she felt Diego just wasn't the right person for her, considering everything that had happened. She also told her that Victor was probably out looking for Diego as they spoke.

Victor walked into tack room demanding to know what Diego was doing there. He demanded Diego stay away from Victoria, and promptly told him to leave. Diego tried to explain, and Victor answered by threatening him with bodily injury instead of listening. Diego insisted he was not the only one to blame for the situation and set Victor off by telling him he loved Vicki. Victor jumped on Diego and started beating him up when Vicki ran in screaming. Victor stopped beating up Diego momentarily and Vicki screamed at Victor that she loved Diego and there was nothing he could do to stop that.

Lauren went to go visit Paul, who was in quite a bad mood. He explained his annoyance was because of his confrontation with Chris about her sleeping with Michael. Lauren pulled no punches in telling him she thought he was being absurd. She pointed out to him that Isabella was madly in love with him, made him a nice home and gave him the baby he always wanted. She told him he should go home and be nice to her, because after all, he really did have it all. He agreed and hung his head.

Meanwhile, Isabella went to go visit Chris at the law firm. She told Chris she would understand if her invitation to the baptism might be awkward, and that she would understand if Chris didn't want to go. Chris, obviously trying to push Isabella's buttons, told her she had seen Paul earlier that evening, and how upset he was with her. She asked if Isabella felt threatened by her, and surprisingly enough, she admitted that yes, she did. They began arguing about the past, how Isabella and Paul were involved during the marriage, and Chris began to ask Isabella questions about the situation. Getting uncomfortable and not wanting to answer the questions, Isabella told Chris just to stay out of their lives and turned on her heel and stomped out.

Later on, Chris took some of her belongings over to the old apartment. At one point, she looked at the couch and remembered seeing Paul and Isabella on it, and for a moment second-guessed whether or not it was a good idea to move back in. Then she began thinking of Michael and all of the nice things he had recently done for her. Interrupting her thoughts, Michael walked in with bags of groceries in his arms. After a little bit a small talk, he reached into his back pocket and grabbed a ring box and opened it, revealing a lovely diamond ring. Chris's response, "What the hell is that?" did not phase him; he told her he knew it was a bit crazy, but would she marry him? She just looked at him, dumbfounded.

At the coffee house, Raul and Brittany were engaged in a contentious conversation. Try as she might, Brittany could not get Raul to be anything but sarcastic and rude to her. Finally, after taking all of the brow beating she could handle, she began to cry and got up to leave. Feeling a bit badly about how he had treated her, Raul stopped her from leaving.

Frederick and Anita Hodges met at Gina's to discuss what to do with their daughter. Anita told Frederick about she and Brittany's earlier conversation, and that her feelings were hurt by Brittany's cruel words. They briefly blamed each other on the way she turned out, but then decided to stop the finger pointing, and just focus on what to do right then to get Brittany back on track. Anita passed on the advice from the attorney, and suggested he find Brittany a job at the bank. She also went on to say she was afraid that Brittany might marry Raul and have a lot of children and not do anything with her life unless they kept her occupied. Frederick brushed off her concerns, saying he was sure it was over between Raul and Brittany.

In Sharon and Nick's bedroom, Sharon walked around in a slinky nightgown while putting on lotion in front of Nick. As he began to get onto the new pull-out couch, she told him the kids were gone, and he could just sleep downstairs instead. He said he didn't want to and looked rather nervous. Sharon started in on him, asking him what Grace was doing in town, if he called her, and if he slept with her. In a lame attempt to defend himself, he just asked her what difference any of it made. He sort of admitted to being the one to calling her, which totally infuriated Sharon. She again accused him of sleeping with her, this time accompanying the accusation with some nasty name calling and punches to his chest. She began screaming at him, asking him if that's where he was when he didn't come home the previous night. She began slapping at him again, and this time he grabbed her, threw her down on the couch, and began kissing her passionately.

Stunned after Michael presented her with a proposal and a diamond, Christine told him that she didn't know what to say to him. Michael said he'd loved her from the first time he saw her or heard her voice. He was sorry for all the mistakes he'd made in the past, but now he was coming to her as a person who was proud of himself and felt that he was offering her something worth having. He said people look all their lives for connections, finally realizing what they really want is one true connection. Touched by his words, Christine told him she'd give him an answer when she got back from her trip to Chicago.

Mary went to Paul's office to talk to Lynne about the conversation they'd had a few days before. She said that Isabella was taking over everything. Lynne said she wasn't as worried about Isabella in the present as she was curious about her past. She told Mary that it was odd for Isabella to have first named Michael as the father of her baby. Lynne believed that if there was something about their past they were hiding, Michael might have records of it. She'd learned a thing or two from Paul and intended to see what she could find out.

Paul called Isabella's father in Los Angeles, telling him that he was Isabella's husband and the two of them had a son. When her father asked if Paul knew about Isabella's past, Paul said yes, but that wasn't important. He told Mr. Brana that he wanted the baby's grandparents to be a part of his son's life, so he was inviting him to the christening. When Mr. Brana warned him that Isabella would not be as welcoming as Paul, so it was out of the question, Paul told him that the baby had been named Ricardo, after him. Mr. Brana began to cry and quickly hung up the phone.

When Isabella came home, she told Paul she had disinvited Christine to the christening as tactfully as she could. But she asked Paul if part of the reason he'd had such a bad day was because of seeing Christine. Paul told her that their conversation had not been personal; Christine simply wanted to inform him that she was moving back in to their old apartment. Isabella said the reason Chris had withheld that information was to make Isabella feel threatened and on edge. Paul told her that Lauren had also come by, reminding him of how lucky he was and how many things he had to be happy about. Isabella said she'd thank Lauren later, then agreed to let Paul get a babysitter so the two of them could have dinner out and perhaps even spend a romantic night together away from home.

Nick told Sharon that he thought it was time for the two of them to talk to the kids, because they might as well separate. Sharon questioned his reasoning, especially after they'd made love earlier. Nick told her that was nothing but sex. He said he'd never had a problem wanting her, because she was a beautiful woman, but the two of them were bad together. Once again they exchanged hateful words and accusations about Grace and Diego, and Sharon asked if Nick had been sleeping with other women besides Grace. Nick decided to leave. Sharon begged him to reconsider. His being there had been the only thing that gave her hope for their marriage. Once he left, he was taking her hope with him. Nick said he could no longer maintain the charade and reiterated his desire to talk to Cassie and Noah.

Nikki questioned Victor about what happened between him and Diego in the tack house. Victor said she didn't want to know, but the worst part of it was that Victoria had come in and defended Diego. He told Nikki he didn't know where Victoria was, but that she'd left with Diego. Nikki said that as much as that was bothering him, she was much more concerned about the situation between Nick and Sharon. Victor continued to insist that was all Diego's fault. Nikki finally told him that she'd probably let herself get too involved in the kids' problems over the years. This time perhaps they should do as they'd been asked and stay out of it. Instead, they needed to focus on keeping their own relationship strong and happy. Victor seemed to agree with her.

Anita wondered how Frederick could be certain that Brittany and Raul's relationship was over. Frederick said that Brittany had moved on, as Anita would see once Brittany went to college. Anita agreed that they could hope so, but what about the time before she went to college? They needed to find a way to keep her busy. When Frederick seemed reluctant to find Brittany a job at his bank, Anita asked him what he was afraid of. Perhaps it was that Brittany would find out what he really did all day. Frederick finally told her that he'd find Brittany a job.

At Crimson Lights, Raul persuaded Brittany not to walk out. She didn't know why, since he obviously hated her. Raul told her that it was true he would never forget what had happened. He said he shouldn't; he needed to learn from the experience, and so did she. But he said as far as forgiveness went, he'd already done that. He had finally realized that when you love someone, you're willing to forgive anything. Brittany said that she could never make it up to him, but Raul said forgiveness wasn't about payback. Brittany told him the summer before had been the happiest of her life because of him. She professed her love for him again, and they gave each other several lingering kisses, which caused the other kids in Crimson Lights to applaud them. Raul's back began to hurt a little; since his doctor advised him to walk, Brittany suggested they take a slow stroll through the park.

Lynne and Mary snuck into Michael Baldwin's office to find his files on Isabella. Just when Lynne was onto something, the lights came on and the police told them to come out with their hands up!! Michael had been visiting Isabella and was hassling her about inviting Chris to the baptism as well as other things. They exchanged a few choice words and Michael's cell phone rang. It was Security at his office. He rushed back there and was amazed to find Lynne and Mary caught red-handed. They refused to answer when he asked what they were looking for, so he let the police take them away.

Paul stopped in at the apartment he and Chris stilled owned to pick up some things. He saw a picture of himself with Christine and reminisced about being with her on the couch. In his place, though, appeared Michael Baldwin, kissing her and telling her that he loved her. Paul came back to earth and stomped out the door.

Later, Paul and Isabella enjoyed a wonderful meal at the Lodge and headed up to their room for some dessert. . .

Wesley pressed Olivia about the significance of the tape and what was on it. He kept wondering what affect the news had on her relationship with Brad. She denied that there was a relationship, then let it slip that Victor Newman was the father of Ashley's baby. Wes asked if there was any possibility that Brad knew this already, but Olivia was sure that he didn't. She didn't know about the sperm, so she was very upset thinking that Ashley had been with Victor in order to get pregnant. Olivia finally kicked Wes out the door and remained unsettled, not knowing what to do.

Brad and Ashley had a nice dinner together. They had driven separate cars, so Brad offered to pick up her prescription and left first. Victor just happened to walk by and asked to sit down for a visit. They exchanged pleasantries, then Victor asked how things were going with Brad. She hesitated and he asked again, was there something wrong?

Back at the apartment, Olivia fussed around a bit, then her doorbell rang. She rushed to the door thinking that it was Wesley again, set the tape on the table, and answered the door to find Brad. . . .

J.T. talked to Colleen about her plans to tell her Granddad about the concert. He didn't envy her and wasn't sure that it was the best move. He wished her luck and took off to go see someone. John Abbott arrived and didn't take the news very well. He soon realized that someone must have seen them together, or otherwise she wouldn't be telling him about disobeying his rules.

J.T. had gone to Jill's office, using a tax form as an excuse to visit her. She knew there was more and dared to listen to his attempts to gain her compassion for Colleen and her situation. She questioned J.T.'s motives, but changed her tune when she realized that he may really care about Colleen. He tried to get her to stay quiet about what she knew and she didn't promise anything, but sounded less sure that she would nail the poor girl as she had been earlier.

Isabella and Paul were spending a romantic evening alone at a room in the Lodge. Isabella could tell something was on his mind, and Paul admitted that he was worried about his mother. For years she had wanted nothing more than a grandchild to help raise, and now she felt excluded from Ricky's life. Isabella agreed to be the one who would make the compromises and concessions in order to keep peace between them. Paul told her that he didn't want her to change; he loved her for the feisty, outspoken person she was. Isabella said that she wished her own parents could be as supportive of her as Paul's mother was of him, but she supposed there would never be anything that would bring them back together or make them forgive her for her past.

Lauren was shocked when Michael approached her in Crimson Lights and accused her of knowing about Mary and Lynne's plan to break into his office. After he believed she knew nothing about it, he described the scene to her. As amused as Lauren was about Mary acting like a "Watergate burglar," she told Michael it wouldn't help his relationship with Christine if he let Mary spend a night in jail.

At the police station, Lynne tried to convince the police that she was the only one responsible for the break in and they should let Mary go. The officer told them they'd both been caught red-handed so they were both under arrest. When Mary was being fingerprinted, a young policewoman said there'd once been a Carl Williams at the station, who everyone still admired and talked about. When she asked Mary if they were related, Mary, full of shame, said she didn't know him. When another policeman came to put them in a cell, Mary collapsed and they called the paramedics as Lynne tried to revive her.

John told Colleen that he understood the only reason she'd told him about going to the concert with J.T. was because Jill had spotted them. He suggested that she would never have confessed otherwise; she just wanted to get to him before Jill did. He had hoped her experience in New York would have taught her something. She'd lost her parents' trust then, and now she was throwing his away. He took her home and went to the office, where he confronted Jill, acting as if she'd been planning to keep it from him. Surprised by his belligerent tone, Jill insisted that she'd planned to tell him at the first opportunity. But she also told him that J.T. had come to see her, and she felt like he wasn't the threat to Colleen that everyone thought he was. She advised John that if he came down too hard on Colleen, the teen might feel she had nothing to lose and get more involved with J.T. than she already was. John refused to heed her wisdom and stomped out of her office, saying he was very disappointed in her.

Colleen sneaked out of the house after her grandfather took her home, to meet J.T. in the park. She told him that John was angry with her after her confession, but J.T. speculated that his talk with Jill might have convinced her to encourage John to go easy on them. When Colleen asked what he'd said to Jill that was so persuasive, J.T. told her that he'd said they were friends. Colleen questioned him about that, and J.T. said, "That's what I told her." They stared into each other's eyes, then J.T. kissed her.

Dru was trying to get a modeling assignment on a phone call to Sid, who kept putting her off. When Wes joined her for dinner, she pretended that she'd turned Sid down because of her family obligations. She then harassed him for information about her sister and Brad. Nothing she said made Wesley budge from his insistence that anything he knew about Olivia was confidential. Dru became annoyed with him, saying she had a right to know what was going on with the sister she loved very much. Wes suggested she focus on dinner instead.

Before Ashley could leave Gina's, Victor sat down at her table. He sensed that something was bothering her, but Ashley refused to discuss it with him. Finally he guessed that it had something to do with Brad. He asked Ashley if she wanted him to talk to Brad, and Ashley was adamant that he should stay out of it. It was her belief that the best thing for everyone would be if the two of them no longer saw each other, even though their friendship was innocent and she'd been grateful for his support. She felt like that would not only be welcomed by Brad, but would be what Nikki wanted as well. Victor agreed that he wouldn't talk to Brad, but seemed unconvinced that they should put their friendship aside.

On his way home, Brad stopped by Olivia's to tell her that things were better between him and Ashley, and to thank her for putting him back on the right path and sending him home. Throughout his apologies for his behavior, Olivia's attitude and questions made it clear that she was angry with Ashley and questioned her friend's commitment to Brad. Brad was confused by the things she was saying, but his final word was that he and Ashley had to work things out and get their marriage back on track for Abby's sake.

Ashley rushed to answer her ringing phone when she got home. It was Olivia, behaving rather coldly, who told Ashley that she would like to see her in the morning. Ashley was confused by her friend's tone, but agreed to meet with her.